Initial salary expectations for Class of 2014

The 2014 National Association of Colleges and Employers Salary Survey bears good news and bad news. The good news? Median starting salaries are up almost universally across the board, with the exception of a slight decrease for business majors. The bad news? While salaries jumped up about 1.2%, they were expected to increase by nearly 5%. As the report indicates, it’s quite possible that salaries are leveling off again.

Median starting salaries for college grads in 2014 is $45,473, up from last year’s $44,928. (Surely that extra $543 can help pay off a bit of student loan interest!) However, as these are median salaries, it’s important to note that many students do not earn at this level. Each graduate from each major/discipline category faces a wide financial range of potential starting salaries.

You can read the whole report here. Perhaps you’re yet a grad? There’s still good reason to read it. You can use this as a guide to help anticipate which majors pay well and which ones hire the most graduates.

This year’s best-salaried grads are being hired in the following areas: mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; utilities; construction; management of companies and enterprises; and manufacturing. However, the job sectors hiring the most grads are quite different than those paying the best. The top-hiring sectors are: educational services; healthcare and social assistance; professional, scientific, & technical services; finance and insurance; and federal, state, and local government.